The systematic targeting of Hindus in Bangladesh by radical Muslims has given rise to the homicidal fantasies of several Islamists worldwide, who are eagerly anticipating the killings to escalate into a pogrom and massacre of the last alive Hindu in the country. Abu Najm Fernando bin al-Iskandar who lives in the United States, claims to be a PhD student specialising in “Islamic studies” and defines himself as an “indigenous Muslim.” He has spent more than 20 years researching and teaching ‘Islamic sciences’ but his primary occupation is to spread hate against Kufar or Kafir (infidels) and harbour illusions about their subjugation or execution at the hands of Muslims.
After the resignation of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wazed and the anti-Hindu violence that has grabbed global headlines, he tweeted his excitement over the devastating developments, advocating for the complete annihilation of Hindus from the country. In his own words, the fact that three of the four schools of jurisprudence for ‘Ahl as-Sunnah’ (traditions and practices of Prophet Muhammad that constitute a model for Muslims to follow) hold that Hindus should only have two options, embrace Islam or die, provides him with “great solace.”
He added, “Hindus should be grateful they’re dealing with Hanafis and not Malikis, Shafi’ees, or Hanbalis,” he mocked while taking the names of Sunni Islamic schools of thought, insinuating that they are far more violent and hostile towards non-Muslims and would have treated vulnerable Hindus in Bangladesh with greater brutality.
He quoted Islamic law from the Hanbali school of jurisprudence, the predominant Sunni school in Saudi Arabia and Qatar which stated, “Thus, due to this, distinguishing themselves from the Muslims in their hair is required of them (i.e., non-Muslims under a covenant of protection) by shaving the front part of their heads and shearing their hair while not parting it due the fact that the Prophet Muhammad parted his hair,” to demonstrate how infidels should be met with humiliating treatment as they are inferior to Muslims.
He also showed his ‘generosity’ by assuring that he has no problem with Hindus who, while residing in Muslim nations, accept their subservient position, and abandon their faith which he called “shirk” (idolatry, polytheism and association with Allah) and live per Islamic laws and regulations. He further hoped that “Bangladesh gets cleaned of Hindu influence and meddling,” while referring to the attacks on Bangladeshi minorities as “Hindu propaganda.”
The Islamic scholar also thanked Allah in response to a post about the attack on prominent Bangladeshi singer Rahul Ananda whose house was looted and set ablaze.
He emphasised that there should be no idols in any Muslim country and added, “Whoever argues in favour of them, should be exiled to the land of shirk (non-Muslim),” while reacting to a post of a Hindu Brahmin protecting a deity’s idol from the Islamists in Bangladesh.
He again vented his frustration in another post with the ‘liberal’ Hanafis and claimed that while they are not obligated to demolish non-Muslim places of worship like other Sunni schools of thought, they are expected to forbid infidels from praying there and convert them into residences. He pointed out, “It is ridiculous how few scholars in Bangladesh and elsewhere are reminding Muslims of these Islamic laws.”
He also added that a deceptive promise of pleasing Allah and the danger of punishment in the hereafter for causing harm to Hindu temples are being used to incentivize people to “protect” them. “Scholars need to step up and tell the truth about these legal rulings. They also need to advise Muslims properly in Bangladesh and other Muslim countries where these legal rulings are being openly violated and condemned,” he further urged.
He restated his argument that Hindu temples should be destroyed and wrote that it is a pity that a Hanbali has to inform the millions of Hanafis in Bangladesh about what their authoritative Fiqh (human understanding and practices of the Sharia) texts state regarding Hindu temples and the profound ignorance in “protecting them,” which results in the breach of Islamic law within Muslim cities.
Dubbing Bangladesh a “land conquered by Islam” he lamented that Muslims would be punished by Allah through the return of disbelief and the takeover of Muslim nations by disbelievers if the former would not carry out Islamic law, which requires them to demolish non-Muslim houses of worship in territories they have triumphed. “This is aside from the punishment in the afterlife for refusing to implement the obligations in Islam,” he remarked.
In another tweet, he conveyed his desire for Bangladeshi Hindus to experience “10 times the humiliation that Muslims in India feel” and added, “Anyone calling for any differently should’ve left with Hasina.” Interestingly, Hindus in Bangladesh must also want the same, as minorities in India, particularly Muslims, have unprecedented liberties that are constantly compromising the country’s law and order without any fear of backlash or retaliation. The Muslim population of India has grown at a rapid pace while that of Bangladeshi Hindus has been steadily declining.
He denounced Bangladesh’s contradictions in yet another lengthy post highlighting, “What’s crazy is that Muslims are talking about the future of Bangladesh being “more Islamic” while at the same time calling for good treatment of Hindus,” noting that infidels have no place in an Islamic state. He further asserted that Muslims and non-Muslims should be subject to different rules since the latter should be treated as lesser beings and made to live as subhumans while forced to pay jizya (tax historically levied on dhimmis, that is, protected non-Muslim subjects of a state governed by Islamic law), citing numerous quotations from Islamic literature to support his claims.
The anti-quota student protests in Bangladesh have devolved into the massacre of Hindus, particularly since Sheikh Hasina left the country. Islamists have been killing the minority Hindu community, raping their women and destroying as well as looting their temples and properties with impunity. The terrible turn of events has provided jihadis like Abu Najm Fernando bin al-Iskandar with a perfect opportunity to further bay for the blood of already marginalised Hindus and take pleasure in their immense suffering.
Either convert or die: Islamic scholar on Hindus in Bangladesh (opindia.com)
What a sad, sad country Bangladesh has become. It was only the intervention of the Indian Army in the mid 70s that prevented the Pak Army slaughtering even more people in E Pakistan. The intervention allowed the Bengalis to found their own state. Far from killing and brutalising Hindus, Bangladesh should be observing India’s national day as a a way thanking its neighbour for facilitating its independence.
I worked for an organisation exporting to Bangladesh in that time and the horror stories coming back from our agent were unbelievable.